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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (718267)	12/14/2005 7:35:07 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Bob Novak Says President Knows Leak Source Bob Novak Says He's Confident the President Knows the Columnist's Source on Valerie Plame By PETE YOST The Associated Press abcnews.go.com WASHINGTON - Columnist Bob Novak, who first published the identity of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame, says he is confident that President Bush knows who leaked Plame's name. Novak said that "I'd be amazed" if the president didn't know the source's identity and that the public should "bug the president as to whether he should reveal who the source is." Novak's remarks, reported in the Raleigh, N.C., News & Observer, came during a question and answer session Tuesday after a speech sponsored by the John Locke Foundation, a conservative think tank. Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer urged Bush to identify Novak's source or to say that he does not know who it is. In 2003, Novak exposed Plame's identity eight days after her husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, accused the Bush administration of manipulating prewar intelligence to exaggerate the Iraqi threat. In the column disclosing Plame's CIA status, Novak said the sources for his column were two administration officials. The identity of Novak's sources has been one of the secrets in the CIA leak investigation. Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove, is one of Novak's sources, according to people close to the investigation, but his other source is not publicly known. Novak apparently is cooperating with the criminal investigation of Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, though the journalist has never said so. The prosecutor has aggressively pursued contempt of court orders against reporters who have refused to cooperate and Novak is not among those who have become embroiled in court battles in the probe. Schumer, D-N.Y., urged Bush to share the identity of Novak's sources if the president knows. "You are in a position to clear this matter up quickly," Schumer said in a letter to the president on Wednesday. "Unlike Mr. Novak, who can claim an interest in maintaining the confidentiality of his sources, there is no similar privilege arguably preventing you from sharing this information," Schumer wrote. "You have repeatedly suggested that you would like to get to the bottom of this affair," Schumer reminded Bush. "At one point, in 2004, you suggested that anyone who was involved in leaking the name of the covert CIA operative would be fired." On the Web: newsobserver.com Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Copyright © 2005 ABC News Internet Ventures

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (718267)	12/14/2005 7:36:14 PM
From: steve harris	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Bad news for the dems... The S&P 500, one of the broadest and most widely used stock market indicators, gained 5.31 points or 0.4 percent to close at 1,272.74, the highest level since June 2001.

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (718267)	12/15/2005 10:51:59 AM
From: Thomas A Watson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Prices Drop by Largest Amount in 56 Years By MARTIN CRUTSINGER The Associated Press Thursday, December 15, 2005; 10:33 AM WASHINGTON -- A record plunge in the cost of gasoline pushed consumer prices down by the largest amount in 56 years in November while industrial production posted a solid gain. The new government reports Thursday provided further evidence that the economy is shaking off the blows delivered by a string of devastating hurricanes. The Labor Department reported that its closely watched Consumer Price Index dropped by 0.6 percent last month, the biggest decline since a 0.9 percent fall in July 1949. It reflected a record fall in gasoline prices, which have been retreating since they surged to above $3 per gallon right after Katrina hit. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve said output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities rose a solid 0.7 percent last month following a 1.3 percent rise in October. Industrial output had plunged by 1.6 percent in September, reflecting widespread shutdowns of oil refineries, chemical plants and other factories along the Gulf Coast. The decline in consumer prices was better than the 0.4 percent drop that analysts had been expecting. Outside of the volatile food and energy categories, prices were up 0.2 percent, a modest gain that should help relieve fears that this year's surge in energy costs could evolve into more widespread inflation problems. The rise in industrial production reflected a 0.3 percent increase in manufacturing and a 4.8 percent surge in the category that covers oil and gas production, which is recovering as Gulf Coast wells and refineries get back on line. Output at the nation's utilities was up 0.3 percent. In other economic news, the number of people who have lost jobs because of the string of devastating Gulf Coast hurricanes climbed to 602,200 last week. That gain reflected a rise of 1,500 jobless applications linked to Katrina and Rita and an additional 1,000 claims linked to Wilma, which hit Florida in October. Overall, the number filing new claims for unemployment benefits totaled 329,000 last week, compared to 328,000 the week before. Analysts said that even with the slight rise of 1,000 in overall claims, they remained at a level consistent with strong employment growth. The huge 0.6 percent fall in consumer prices last month followed a small 0.2 percent October increase which had come after a 1.2 percent surge in September, which had been the biggest monthly gain in a quarter-century. The huge swings in inflation reflected the surge in energy prices related to widespread production shutdowns along the Gulf Coast after the hurricanes hit. In early September, the nationwide price for gasoline briefly hit a record high above $3 per gallon. But since that time pump prices have been falling, including an additional decline of around 42 cents in November. That decline pushed gasoline prices down by a record 16 percent in the CPI report, a drop that had followed a 4.5 percent decline in October. Overall, energy prices were down a record 8 percent, reflecting not only the fall in gasoline but also declines of 6.1 percent for home heating oil and 0.5 percent for natural gas. Those drops still left prices higher than a year ago and homeowners will feel the pinch when they pay heating bills this winter. Food costs were up 0.3 percent in November, with the price of beef, pork and poultry all up. Fresh fruit prices also rose by the cost of vegetables dropped. Through the first 11 months of this year, inflation at the consumer level has been rising at an annual rate of 3.8 percent, compared to an increase for all of 2004 of 3.3 percent. The slight acceleration in overall inflation reflected faster increases in energy prices, which are up at an annual rate of 21.7 percent so far this year compared to a rise of 16.6 percent for all of 2004. Excluding food and energy, prices this year are up 2.1 percent, a well-behaved performance which was a slight improvement over the 2.2 percent rise in so-called core prices last year. On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve nudged interest rates by a quarter-point for the 13th time and signaled a possible end to the string of rate hikes imposed with the hope of ensuring that inflation did not get out of control. The Fed noted in its statement that "core inflation has stayed relatively low in recent months and longer-term inflation expectations remain well contained." The good performance of core inflation has allowed the Fed to stick to its gradual rate increases rather than being forced to move to faster rate hikes that could slam the brakes on economic growth. More than half of the 0.2 percent increase in core inflation last month was attributed to a 1.3 percent rise in the cost of hotel and motel rooms. The price of new cars was down 0.1 percent while airline fares, which have been increasing sharply because of higher fuel costs, fell by 1.5 percent in November. Medical care, a sector with some of the fastest increases in prices, showed a gain of 0.6 percent in November as prescription drug costs jumped by 0.7 percent. washingtonpost.com